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Apocalypse Life/Issue 30
Issue 30 - Girl From 442 Julius tightens the grip of his bat, as he scans through the eyes of the walkers blocking their only path. Each one, save for a few, have their heads turned toward them. Their collective groaning grows louder. “Kill anything that gets past me,” Julius exclaims to his side, not taking his eyes off the walkers. “Okay?” He turns to Nina, who had a terrified, nervous look about her, sweat dripping from her forehead. Her brief nod was barely noticeable. Julius lets out a bracing sigh, and leaps toward the nearest walker in front of him. He swings his bat sideways, his left hand gripping a little above the handle. This swinging method was something he learned on the spot, when he found himself in a bind during one of his supply runs. It was effective for the most part, since it gives him a tighter, more concentrated swing. This is the only other time he was using it. He moves up quickly to the next walker, swinging fiercely. Nina, closely following him, looks to each of her sides to mind the ones that had just been taken down. She holds her one and only weapon close to her chest with both her hands. Julius had no idea what to do next once they traverse this hall. The walkers were at least too spread out to make an impassable barrier, but that’s only the least of his worries; he still had the next floor to worry about. He continues to swing his bat, paving through the middle of the hall. He glances Nina behind him just to check on her. She was looking ahead of Julius’s direction by this time, confident that the walkers he took down won’t be standing back up. She felt comfortable with her current stance to the point that she didn’t want to change it. Julius continues to move up, finding success in his method, until he is finally forced to stop; a walker has gotten a hold of his bat, putting him at a standstill. The walker was face to face with him, trying to take a bite out of his face. Nina, too busy paying attention to the walkers he left behind, bumps his back. Almost everything comes crashing down around her upon seeing his struggle; her body temperature shoots up, darkness shrouds the corner of her eyes, and her rapidly-beating heart seizes her every move. She swore she could hear Julius pleading for her help, but the sound around her was too faded. She was ready to accept her failure, ready to faint. The walkers to her sides were starting to stand back up, heightening, increasing in size, eating away the room around her. “Help—!!!” She wakes up from her predicament upon hearing a piercing shout from Julius; all of her fear vanished in the blink of an eye. She steps in front of him, delayed by the lack of space at first, but not wasting any time; she plants the metal bar on top of the walker’s forehead, causing its grip to loosen from Julius’s bat. Upon finishing, she looks at Julius half-timidly, half-terrified, some specks of blood visible in her right cheek and neck. Julius was almost dumbfounded to see this spontaneous movement. He bluntly says “thanks” to her and instantly resumes his path-clearing swings, with no time to lose. She sidesteps back to where she was before, still a bit confused about really taking down that walker. Space was starting to get tighter; he didn’t know what it was at that moment, but the walkers seemed to become harder to take down at this point. His swings were starting to become more delayed, weaker, heavier. He was starting to hear his breathing. What Nina dreaded from before they started moving down was happening; the walkers Julius had taken down were standing right back up. She never thought the breathing room they had was a luxury at this point. “They-they’re standing back up—” Nina exclaims from behind him, tapping his back impatiently. Julius was far too focused at what’s ahead to hear what she said. He keeps his pace, making slight changes to meet his current condition; he gathers energy by delaying his swings, and he picks which target can create the more space. So far, though, there was no walker he’s hit that made the difference. All he has caused now is lesser room for him to swing. Nina, on the other hand, had her back fully turned to Julius, getting ready to stab the walkers he had left behind. She swore she only had her near-sightedness active by this time; she can’t see anything at the beginning of the hall, where they came from. She had to turn her back, since he wasn’t moving forward at all. He was getting desperate. They both were. He still continued his swings, though they were becoming more delayed by this time. Julius could feel his chest struggling, sweat dripping from his forehead. He was letting the walkers approach him closer, too close for comfort. He swings one more time, until he was finally stopped. Another walker has taken a hold of his bat yet again. The walkers didn’t approach her sooner. It’s like they knew they were done for, intentionally moving slower because this was an easy haul. It was unfortunate for her to end the journey sooner, all for an imaginary girl her companion is chasing for. She didn’t want to hate him, but now it seems like there’s no choice. A walker suddenly rushes toward her, but she was ready; its forehead makes instant contact with the sharp point of her metal bar. With so many things rushing through her mind, Nina had a delayed response for a second, keeping her stance the same. But once she comes to her senses, she was met with trouble tugging the bar out. Julius, still feeling the weight of his fatigue, didn’t feel like asking Nina for help again. Now he just wanted the walker to get off, maybe politely, because he doesn’t want to waste energy anymore. He continued to struggle like this, giving off just as much energy as the walker, who was trying to take a bite out of his face. The walkers to its sides were starting to inch closer to him. He wanted to know if she was still in this building. If she’s one of them, or if she left her corpse. Because he regretted his decision. His decision of visiting this place. He was sure he was going to let the walker bite him, but something told him no. And that’s when an idea hit him. He braces himself, tightens his grip on the bat, then looks ahead. He was stupid for not doing this earlier. “Nina,” he calls from behind him. “Still there?” She had just stabbed another walker in the forehead upon hearing this. “Mhm!” she exclaims. Julius starts moving forward by heaving, pushing the walker from its place. The first step. He then diverts into a slow jog, keeping his arms tight on his bat as he pushes the walker continuously; it provided a semi-effective barrier to at least nudge away the others. Step two. Nina, feeling the wind behind her, turns around and sees Julius already at a few feet away. She finishes pulling out her weapon and catches up. It doesn’t take long for her to follow, since Julius wasn’t moving too fast. To speed up their movement, she leans against Julius’s back with her shoulder and starts pushing along with him. He feels this sudden surge of force, slightly pushing him closer to face the walker that has long refused to let go of his bat. Their uncomfortably fast pace made Julius worry a bit. “Wai—wait—” But it was too late; Julius stumbles forward, causing him to crash down toward the walker in front of him. He was sure he felt its teeth grind against his chest as he tumbles to his side, one hand on his bat. Nina, too, suffered a similar fate, stumbling on her front. Julius quickly recovers, and realizes they were finally at the end of the hall. The first thing he sees is Nina, who was on all fours, a disoriented look in her face. As he walks toward her, a walker quickly tugs her left arm, making him think twice. He pulls his bat back then swings upward, causing the walker to loosen its grip. But it wasn’t enough to assist her. She was quickly overwhelmed by yet another walker, grabbing her back and pulling her. Julius was unable to help; a walker has wrapped its arm across his chest, its hunger too strong for him to resist. He only had a second to react, a second to do something; he rolls along with the walker’s movement, and trots back behind him. There was only one way to find out. He pushed himself back with great speed, and makes strong contact with a wall. The walker’s grip loosens, and lets him go. He quickly turns his attention toward Nina, who should be ahead of her; instead, more walkers, including the one from earlier, blocks his view. He hoped to pave his way toward her, but there were more walkers trickling down from his left. His left, where the set of stairs to the next floor was. As he swung at the walkers, he desperately tried to catch a glimpse of her; but the walkers didn’t give him a chance. He couldn’t let his guard down, or he’ll be swarmed. He swung at the walkers that surrounded him, creating a path toward the staircase. Every second of chance he got, he tried looking at her direction. Still, his view remained to be blocked. He had no chance. He worked his way toward the staircase, only managing to subdue the walkers from biting him. He eventually ended up on the steps, where he took down one last walker so that he could have the stairs for himself. Nina saw him vanish, beyond the wall of walkers. They were far too distracted on him at this moment, giving her plenty of chance to kill the walker that had just grabbed her. She looked to her right corner, beyond the wall that blocked her own view. Once these walkers start ignoring him, it’ll be her turn for sure. ---- There was no other way out. The walkers have formed an impassable barrier all around her. All that’s left is the direction towards where Julius vanished, or the door of the room to her right… She stands right back up and scans around for where she dropped her weapon, only to find it stuck on the dead walker she took down from behind her earlier. There was certainly no time to pick it up, as the other walkers already have their attention to her; all that’s left for them is to eat away the small free space she still has. She doesn’t look back and barges into the door. The room she enters in was brightly illuminated by the large and only window in the room. The walls had its white paint peeled, and its floors had barks of wood and other small debris. It was as if this building was abandoned even before “the time.” She scans around it to see her options, and sees yet another door to her right, presumably leading to the next room. She sprints toward it and crashes it open in a similar fashion, finding the same sight as the room from earlier, though it was slightly cleaner. There was yet another door to her opposite side that she could enter, much like before. But upon halfway of reaching it, the walkers she had long left barge in through the room’s entrance door to her right. She didn’t know what it was; of course, that’s what instinct is. Out of nowhere, she slips her right hand into her backpack and takes out her pistol in a matter of a second, aiming it at the invading walkers. She shoots it four times, until she hears it click, to indicate its emptiness. It was as if her luck shot up through the roof at that moment; three out of the four shots she made killed three walkers. She felt the rush out of killing them, wanting to do it again. Unfortunately, reloading will take long, and there’s no telling how many bullets she has left. She marvels at her impeccable accuracy at first, but then soon sees that it barely did anything; the walkers she killed were soon replaced by more. She tries to feel the wooden door behind her by patting it. Like the other ones, she had to bust this open. She keeps an eye on the walkers while she tries opening it with her back, and elbows. It felt like she didn’t make any progress, until after the fifth tug, where it slides open for her, conveniently. The walkers were already at a close range toward her, forcing her to not look back. Once she hits the wall, she’s going to run to the door to her left, in a diagonal direction. Only there wasn’t a wall. Nina can’t believe it. Was she really falling? Yes. She was. She could feel the wind on her back, her view suddenly fading, her feet lacking any floor to step on. It all makes sense, once she glimpses the giant hole she came from. She didn’t have time to brace for her fall, but she didn’t need to worry; she makes hard contact with something soft. Mists of dust surround her, as she tries to piece together what “the hell” just happened to her. A giant hole in the ceiling she fell from? Check. A mattress for her to land in? Check. Second floor? Check. She didn’t want to stand, because the mattress’s softness was so welcoming. But she couldn’t stay for long, because the walkers will surely follow her soon. She stands right back up, and scans her surroundings again. She could hear the footsteps of more walkers on the other side of the door dragging across the floor. Behind her was…yet another wall, only with another giant hole on it, in place of the window. She could see the other building outside of it in plain view. To the hole’s right-hand side, the words “You’re welcome” were scrawled in cursive, not too big, but not too small to notice either. -------- Julius, much to his relief, finds no walkers on the next, and seemingly final floor of the building. All the room had was open space, with windows spread all over it. He felt a bit relaxed upon seeing this, mostly because he didn’t have to worry about any more walkers. But his relaxation is short-lived, when what he left at the bottom floors came to mind; specifically, Nina, and all the walkers. It doesn’t hurt to check if she indeed wasn’t dead. But it was too soon to judge. She might’ve indeed been swarmed, or at least bitten by now. But he didn’t have time to ponder further, because the walkers he left were starting to show up, pouring through the staircase. He’s getting really sick of it. Sick of fighting them. He was just wasting his energy. There has to be another way to get out of this. He’s only realized this time that going up floors was a bad idea. But it was the only option he had. He scans around the open space to see his possible exit, imagining the view from below to be nerve-wracking. But he had no other choice. It was the only way for him to leave. He sprints to his far left side toward the field of windows, briskly walking through it to scan which one he can use to climb off from. He sees a pipe lining going down from the window to his far left; how far it reaches down, he doesn’t know. He decides to take a chance with this one, walking toward the window it was closest to. He looks up and down at it first, seeing if it was actually breakable; the clear view he had told him that it wasn’t too thick, and the yellowish color it has accumulated told him it was old. He breaks it with the tip of his bat, holding it on two hands. He breaks a sizable exit for him to slip through, which was almost the whole window. Upon seeing the railing he was soon going to step foot on, his heart’s beat hastens. Heights were something he wasn’t fond of, but he wasn’t scared of it. But the view of the cement down the ground was starting to make him think twice. Like this wasn’t a good idea, at all. He shakes his hand, sighs, then steps foot on the railing he was going to be standing on for probably a whole hour. The loud echoes of the walkers kick-starts his heart into a much faster beat; how could he have forgotten them? Judging from their distant sounds, they didn’t seem too far. Or, at least, he hoped they weren’t. He takes his right foot away and exchanges it with his left. He grabs hold of the window’s side railing, then lets his right foot go out of the window, quickly setting it down on the railing to prevent suspense. This was it. He was finally outside, trying to walk on top of a tight-rope-like railing. At least the pipe wasn’t far away. He peeks through the opened window to see if the walkers were catching up; a few of them were actually just a couple of feet away, quickly picking up his presence. He almost let his hand go on the window’s railing, out of surprise. He makes a few baby steps toward the declining pipe, carefully letting his left hand go from the window. On the other side, he could hear the footsteps and moans of the walkers; something that makes him glad he left the floor already. Once he traverses a considerable amount of inches away from the window, the walkers he had left tried to reach for him. Some have already fallen off the window, as if they thought there was a floor for them to walk on. They only challenged Julius’s already-stressed nerves, as he was trying his best to maintain his balance. But his nerves could only go so far. Julius’s balance starts to go out of control; the weight of his back gets the best of him, as he loses his footing, then his balance shortly after. He tried his best to lean in to the pipe, but was too late; he was already falling. He was glad to lean in earlier; his fall was actually bringing him closer to the pipe. He was afraid for what damage was going to cause his hands, since he was going to do the unthinkable. But he almost forgot he was wearing gloves. He grabs a hold of the pipe with both his hands, with his right making the first contact. He squeezes his grip as hard as he can, as he continuously slides down the fragile, shaking pipe. His fall was broken a little bit, but the pipe itself couldn’t hold on; the top starts to break, once he reaches the point between the third and second floor. He could feel the pipe bend as he descended. His fall reverted back into an ungracious one, as the pipe itself retracted from his eyes. He fell to his right side. Pieces of the pipe rained down upon him, some of it hitting him. His body ached too much for him to stand right back up. “Julius!!!” It was a familiar voice, one he thought he wouldn’t hear again about ten minutes ago. She runs to his side, and tries to pull him up. “I—I’m okay—” he mutters, struggling to get up with his two hands. Nina aids him by pulling up his arm. “Jesus—I thought I had to get you out of there—” She scans him for any visible injuries; the only one she could see clearly was the cut on his forehead, blood already dripping from it. Other than that, dirt and grime was nearly covering him. “I’m cool—just my arm hurts—” He tries to retract his aching, right arm, and finds it still movable. Longing for a breather, he stands there, back slightly hunched, breathing heavily. Nina just looks at him, also feeling her own exhaustion. A smile starts to form in her mouth. “Heheh—” She starts to chuckle at Julius. “We—we lived—” Julius’s expression doesn’t change at first, but her smile soon spreads over to him. “Yeah—” “High five—” Nina puts up her right hand. Julius, still trying to catch his breath, was about to respond, when he notices something conspicuous on Nina’s left arm. Single trails of blood were dripping down onto her bandaged hand. His smile slowly dissolves. “N-Nina—” He points to her left arm, to which she quickly looks. “What—happened to your left hand?” And that’s when she feels it. The sharp, stinging pain in the back of her arm. ---- “Make a right.” In an instant, they were back on the road. Nina, a dire, yet sunken look on her face, navigated their way. She held on the back of her arm tightly, trying to stop the blood from escaping. Something about her tone made Julius certain that they had to go, right away. That Nina wants to visit her house because she needed to. He hasn’t asked to look at her wound; he was afraid he might make her condition worse. “Left here—” Nina continues, her tone lacking any emotion. “You—you sure you’re okay?” he hesitantly asks. She gives him her sunken look. “Maybe. Maybe I’m not. And we can’t waste any time.” Was this how a bite really felt? She must have gotten it during the commotion in the third floor. A, steady, stinging ache, in the back of her arm. Maybe this was the first step to turning. She just has to get home to be sure. “Just pass the two stop signs and we’ll be there.” They have entered a small, suburban area, where the leaves of the numerous trees nearly cover the sky. The houses were small, single-floor ones, with an aged look about them. He felt nervous, partly at the thought of her turning, and partly at the thought of seeing a friend die in front of him. He can leave her alone, now, but it’ll be betrayal on his part. This sleepless day just couldn’t get any worse. Nina kept her eye out to her right, minding each house they passed by. “Stop. Here—” Julius abruptly brakes, as they stop in the middle of the street; he looks to which direction she was looking at. It was a small house, with an overall light-blue color, and a gray roof; numerous bushes surround the front lawn and the backyard’s fence. Nina opens her car door with her bleeding arm, quickly running at the backyard’s door as soon as she exits. Julius parks the car, and follows suit. By the time he reaches her, she was getting ready to enter a screen door to the side of the house. She instantly enters it, Julius not far behind. She lets her right hand go from the back of her left arm upon seeing the sink. Once Julius enters, he was greeted by a warm, welcome-home feel, from the natural lighting coming from the antique-like curtains, to the orange-striped wallpaper. He sees Nina trying to open the sink, the gash on the back of her left arm almost visible. “No water—” she bemoans, brushing the strands of dangling hair from her forehead. She turns around, and catches a glimpse of Julius examining her wound. “How bad?” Julius’s look grows into worry. “I—it just looks like a n-normal cut—” Nina tears away, looking around the cupboards. She walks to the one near the pale-yellow refrigerator, and reaches for it with her two hands. Just as she suspected, this is where she kept the bottled water. She takes two bottles, and returns back to the sink. Julius, a bit concerned, walks to her side. She tries to give her own arm a look, but fails. The sleeve of her sweater wasn’t helping. “Need help?” Julius asks. Nina shoots him a look, and shakes her head. “No.” She attempts to fold her sleeve one more time, then decides to rip it off, completely. She throws the piece of bloodied sweater onto the sink, takes a bottle, then opens it. She folds her left arm in visible view and pours the contents of the bottle on it. She keeps this up for a few seconds, until the water bottle was empty. She nonchalantly throws the bottle onto the sink and starts rubbing on the wound, looking at her right hand once she finishes. Just red wetness in her fingers, staining the bandage. “How’s it look?” She faces Julius with her folded arm, after what seemed like an eternity. He nervously inspects it, bringing his head closer and squinting a bit. “Just… i-it looks like a cut.” The sunken look on her face didn’t seem to vanish. She returns facing the sink and empties a second bottle of water on it. -------- After a few minutes, they were both sat down silently on the kitchen’s antique rectangular table, staring into nothingness. Nina rested both her arms on the table, the ripped sleeve of her sweater creating some sort of new fashion statement. Julius was leaning from his seat, his hands resting on his lap. “What if I turn?” Nina utters. Something she’s been waiting to say all this time. “What if thi—this was a bite, and… I just turn?” Julius was afraid he was going to hear this from her. He regrets not seeing the process on someone up close, for him to tell the difference. He sighs as a response, lacking an answer. “I mean I don’t… feel any different.” In those few minutes, she had managed to wrap a bandage around her arm. The aching was weaker now, but she could still feel blood coming out from it. Julius looks at her, squinting a bit. He then leans in closer. “You look… you look fine as far as I can tell.” It’s not like her skin was pale. “You say you don’t feel any different?” She shakes her head no. “Then maybe it really is just a gash.” Julius continues to lean in for a few more seconds, then reverts back to his initial position. “You look badass without the other sleeve, by the way.” Nina, who was nervously chewing on the nails of her right hand, doesn’t change her expression. “I—I guess we’ll see in a few hours if I really do… turn.” She couldn’t pinpoint when it exactly she was bit, or if she was bit for that matter—at this point, all bleeding cut wounds are suspicious. Julius stands up from his seat, walks toward the sink, and picks something up. He returns to the table, his hands holding onto a damp piece of cloth; Nina’s sleeve. “Okay, let’s see here…” He unfolds it open into its complete sleeve form, rotating it for examination. He stops, upon seeing a ruby-red spot, in the form of a curved hole. “Yep, I think this is where you got cut.” He spins the cloth to Nina’s direction, pointing at the spot in particular. “A cut, from a zombie’s nail or—or something…” “No. It can’t be,” he replies, shaking his head. “I don’t—know.” Julius’s failed reassurance reverts them back to their silenced seating. It was by this time that something he’s been putting off has caught up to him. “D-do you have a couch?” he asks her. She nods, and points to her back with her thumb. “Room with the TV.” Julius nods back, then stands up. He walks past her and pats her shoulder. “If you turn, make sure to not leave anything when you’re devouring me. I’ll be taking a nap.” ---- Julius was far too tired to mind the things around him; all he knew was that the couch was so comfortable, he didn’t want to stand up from it. His nap was cut short, when he starts hearing strums of the guitar somewhere around him. “How—how long was I asleep—” Julius asks, standing right up and scratching the back of his head; a bed head was the last thing he wanted. His vision was still a bit blurry, but he could see movement from the right corner of his eyes. “Sun’s about to set. So, like, I don’t know—about five, eight?” Once his vision clears up, he sees Nina turning the knobs on the tuning board of her guitar, strumming occasionally to hear its sound. “And—you aren’t a walker yet?” he replies, rubbing his left eye. She glances at him fairly quickly. “Nope, guess not.” “So that means you’re in the clear?” She stops tuning her guitar to examine the bandage in the back of her left arm. “I guess. I mean this thing stopped bleeding, and I don’t feel sick, at all.” She returns to tuning her guitar, as if nothing happened. “But listen…” And as soon as she says that, all of the seriousness returns. She stops tuning her guitar, placing it down next to her criss-crossed feet. “What? What’s up…” “I, uh… I’ve gotta go somewhere.” She transfers her eyes to the direction of her kitchen. “I… actually needed to go home to check on things. My mom said she’ll be leaving something for me that… well, tells her where she is. All I got was this note.” She flashes a piece of folded paper to him. “Turns out my uncle and cousin actually dropped by. They told me they’re going to get her, and I can still follow…” Julius’s look was that of concern. “How old is that note?” She looks at the paper to confirm it. “It… doesn’t really matter. They told me to keep following these uh… signs. And I know a sign from them when I see one.” “Signs?” Nina proudly nods her head. “I know those two really well. They’ve left sunflowers all over the—” She stops, as if she realized she had just revealed a big secret to him. “Sunflowers…?” “It’s a family thing. W-we love sunflowers.” It wasn’t easy, but he could see her giving off a lie. The sureness of her expression discouraged him from asking further, though. “Well… alright.” “You can come, if you want.” He pauses, thinking about it for a second. He doesn’t know it, but he was certain about this decision. “I’m staying here. I’ll… I’m going to search the whole town if I have to. Can’t shake the feeling that she’s here…” Julius leans back, folding his arms on top of his lap. His restlessness never spoke this loudly before. “Okay. If… that’s what you want.” They both look away, almost at the same time. ---- “Sorry but, I… can’t have you staying here.” He was a bit confused, since Nina was holding a set of keys in front of him. “Don’t ask me why, but I—just—want to leave everything the way it is.” Julius nods, and receives the dangling set of two keys from her hand. “One of those opens 437, Mr. Palmer’s house. Just—down over there—” She points at the end of the street. “And the other’s for… ah, Grandma Harris’s house. But I don’t recommend that place. She hoarded a bunch of cats.” Julius, nodding, examines the pair of keys. “Well, sucks that we’re cutting this short, but I knew I was gonna have to leave by this point anyway.” She wears an unclear smile in her face while looking at him. “Nice meeting you, um… Julian.” “Really?” He curves his eyebrows. “All three or… four days, and you still call me Julian?” “Jillian? Janus? Juh—um—” “Forget it, Nino.” They chuckle, after a delayed response. “I think it’d be better for you to take the car. Get there faster.” She nods, in agreement. “That’d be swell.” They both look at each other, with Julius now having the same expression. “Good luck.” “Thanks. And good luck finding Alice.” “Oh, well at least you remember her name.” “Well that’s because you were saying it like fifty times!” “Okay—okay, I guess you’re right—” Again, they both laugh at each other. Julius isn’t certain, but he might actually miss these times. “Well—okay—can’t waste any time.” She nods, then turns around, reaching for her one-strap backpack and guitar; there was now a case concealing it. “Would be cool if I run into you again. With—with Alice this time.” “Likewise.” Nina walks toward the car, after they nod one more time. “Oh, hey, before I forget—” She turns around. “High five?” He pulls his left hand up. A smile grows in Nina’s face, and she trots over to him and slaps his palm. ---- It doesn’t take long for his goodbyes to subside. Now, he’s found himself all alone again. Homeless, nowhere to go. A whole new city to cover. Just like the good old times. He gives the house one last look, then leaves. He walks in the middle of the street, hands in his pockets. He minded the numbers of each house. The number four-thirty-seven is the one he had to go to. It takes him thirty seconds to find it, since it wasn’t far from Nina’s house; her’s was the number four-four-two. He speedily walks toward the front door, taking out the keys from his pocket. It was hard to tell the keys apart, since they practically look the same. He inserts one of them into the front door’s lock, and turns it; the resistance told him it wasn’t this one. He jumbles the second key, then inserts it next. “E-excuse me—” Julius was about to turn the knob, when he hears something he definitely shouldn’t be hearing. A voice so familiar, so vivid in his dreams. He shakes his head, then reverts back to opening the door. But something taps his shoulders. “T-this isn’t your house—” He turns around, to see if he had indeed lost his mind. It was hard to tell, at first. Her eyes were nearly blocked out by her hair, her dark-brown hair— The look on her face suddenly drops. And so did his. “Julius?” ---- Category:Apocalypse Life Category:Apocalypse Life Issues Category:Issues